Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 11
Hari-nāma Mahimā and Caraṇāmṛta: The Redemption of the Hunter Gulika
Uttaṅka Itihāsa
जन्मकोट्यर्जितं पापं विष्णुपूजारतात्मनाम् । क्षयं याति क्षणादेव तेषां स्यात्पापधीः कथम् ॥ ११ ॥
janmakoṭyarjitaṃ pāpaṃ viṣṇupūjāratātmanām | kṣayaṃ yāti kṣaṇādeva teṣāṃ syātpāpadhīḥ katham || 11 ||
Sin accumulated over tens of millions of births is destroyed in an instant for those whose very being is devoted to the worship of Viṣṇu. How, then, could any notion of sin remain for them?
Sanatkumara (in instruction to Narada, within the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue frame)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It declares the doctrine of pāpa-kṣaya through single-pointed Viṣṇu-bhakti: even vast karmic impurity is said to be burned up instantly when one is absorbed in Viṣṇu-pūjā, leaving no basis for self-identification as “sinful.”
Bhakti is presented as total absorption (rata-ātman) in worship, not merely occasional ritual; such unwavering devotion to Viṣṇu is portrayed as spiritually transformative and karmically purifying.
The verse is primarily bhakti-centered rather than Vedāṅga-technical; its practical takeaway is ritual application—consistent Viṣṇu-pūjā (upacāra, mantra, and disciplined worship) as a purificatory sādhana.